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Creating an Endless Legacy

When describing an endowment, the key word is everlasting. When you create an endowed
fund, your donation is invested, allowing the principal to remain intact and grow
over time. The original gift is never spent, but rather a portion of the investment
return is used to provide ongoing permanent support. Your individual endowed fund
becomes a part of the University’s overall permanent endowment, yet still maintains
a separate identity. Not only is an endowment a beautiful way to carry on the legacy
of a loved one or mentor, but it also provides a self-sustaining source of funding
that never ends. Endowed funds truly allow you to support WKU in perpetuity.

The College Heights Foundation understands the value of your gift—both monetarily
and sentimentally—and is therefore extremely protective of it. The Foundation understands
that prudent risk-taking is necessary in order to achieve its overall objectives.
Acknowledging that there is a direct correlation between the relationships of risk/return
under Modern Portfolio Theory, the Foundation does not seek to eliminate risk but
to effectively manage it. Endowment funds are commingled and invested in a manner
that aims for consistent long-term growth with the goal of preserving and enhancing
the enduring value of the endowment. The CHF invests the endowment using a diversified
portfolio consisting primarily of equity, fixed income, and alternative asset classes.
Foundation policies strike a balance between providing spendable income in a given
year and preserving the principal of the endowment base for the future. Through this
method we are able to ensure your legacy and gift will change lives for generations
to come.

As with our investment strategies, the College Heights Foundation is also very thoughtful
about our spending policies. The Foundation recognizes that as a perpetual entity,
the framework of its spending decisions should be centered upon long term market cycles.
The Foundation’s spending policy rate is reviewed by the Executive Committee on an
annual basis. In the initial year an endowed fund is established, the annual distribution
goal shall be four percent of the beginning market value of the endowment. However,
the annual distribution may not be made until the endowed fund has been established
and invested for at least one calendar year. In subsequent years, the annual distribution
is calculated on a three-year rolling average.